Tehachapi too strong for BHS volleyball

RIDGECREST — The Burroughs volleyball team hosted another high-caliber opponent on Thursday night, and were swept at home for the second straight match.

By Anthony GentileSPORTS EDITORagentile@ridgecrestca.com

RIDGECREST — The Burroughs volleyball team hosted another high-caliber opponent on Thursday night, and were swept at home for the second straight match. The Burros lost to Tehachapi 9-25, 10-25, 19-25 at the Burroughs Barn. “I was proud of our girls because we kept working hard and we kept trying to make adjustments,” Burros head coach Michele Lazaro said. “Just like the last match, we got better as the match went on.”Burroughs (1-2) won the first point of the match on a kill by outside hitter Allie Sliva, but Tehachapi (14-1) answered with five straight points. The Warriors, who were Central Section Division II semifinalistss last year, went on an 11-1 run to take control of the first set — a kill by Warriors outside hitter and UCLA verbal commit Destiny Julye closed it out.“She’s outstanding,” Lazaro said of the Tehachapi junior. “It was fun playing against her and exciting to watch.” Tehachapi went on a 12-0 run early in the second set to take a 13-1 lead and Burroughs couldn’t get closer than 11 points the rest of the way. Julye punctuated the set with a pair of kills and gave the Warriors a decisive lead while the Burros struggled with early adjustments.“We’re pretty young when it comes to knowing our rotations and knowing where we’re going to be,” Lazaro said. “When I made adjustments in that first set because our passing was hurting us, we got thrown off and we weren’t sure where to be. Some of our younger players need to really do their homework so they know where to be on rotations.”In the first two sets, Burroughs won consecutive points only twice and didn’t win more than two points in a row. Tehachapi worked efficiently on offense to keep the Burros from getting into a rhythm.“They were consistent, they passed well and they hit where we weren’t,” Lazaro said. “They were good hitters — they hit hard and they jumped over our block.”The Burros showed resolve in a back and forth third set, but couldn’t avoid the sweep. After losing the first point of the set, Burroughs won five points in a row on Chantia Jennings’ serve and had a 10-8 lead before Tehachapi went on another run. “I was happy that we improved every game — that’s what we have to do,” Lazaro said. “If we can be tougher mentally and more aggressive, then we’ll come out on top.”Tehachapi scored six straight points to take a 14-10 lead and swing the momentum back in their favor. Burroughs kept it close the rest of the way before dropping the final set by a six-point margin.Jennings had a good all-around performance for Burroughs. The setter had 19 assists, seven digs and finished the match without a service error.Sliva had a team-high six kills in the loss to go along with 22 perfect passes, nine digs and one block. Defensively, libero Rebecca Floyd had a team-high 11 digs and 17 passes, and outside hitter Bridget Ingle also turned in a solid performance.“Bridget got her hands on the ball a lot and that definitely helped slow their game down,” Lazaro said. “Without getting hands on the ball against a team like that, you can’t slow them down.”Burroughs returns to action today at the Highland Tournament in Bakersfield, with the first of three pool play matches starting at 4 p.m. The tournament resumes on Saturday with bracket play.“I’m sure there will be tough teams there, but I do think there will be more teams that are on our level,” Lazaro said. “It’s about building more confidence and being more aggressive. We need to take the way we are finishing games and start the game that way.”